In a simple way, “2942” by indie musician MAXIMILIAN stands for Tonight For You and perhaps, a reference to the feelings that fester at night when we’re in the company of a loved one. Esoterically, it could even be a reference to a feeling that encroaches when the clock strikes a particular time come nightfall: what are the other lives we did not live based on the choices we made?
Here, MAXIMILIAN takes us through his exact meaning of “2942” so hit play below, find some time to find out the context, and most importantly, be prepared to feel some feels.
Hi MAXIMILIAN, What I usually like to do with new people I interview is to get them to introduce their brand or product in 10 words or less so if you could humour me
Music maker; Dream chaser; A parent’s worst fear.
I thought what was so interesting was that one of your TikTok videos opened with a line about chasing dreams. Do you think you’re chasing yours?
I’ll be on the fence about this. I’m in my final year of Law School and will be taking the Bar Exams later this year, so I’m not sure whether I can safely say I am chasing my dreams when I am unable to give music my fullest attention.
I’m doing all I can to release as many songs as I can to build up my repertoire and a consistent following ever since our first single in 2020. Inspiring a like-minded group of people to chase their music dreams is definitely on the cards as well (we’re providing Music Production services to aspiring musicians too!), but it’s a constant struggle in our society where people favour the conventional career route and place immense value on a piece of paper.
Isn’t it amusing how everyone tells us to study hard, get good grades, find a stable job to get a stable income to retire at 65, all while we are supposed to raise a family and have kids only to have the cycle start again? That can’t possibly be the point of living, can it?
This is why I’m going all out, in spite of my current obligations and commitments, to see this music thing take off to inspire others to truly live. Imagine the things you can achieve, if only you dared to try.
The BGM of 2924 is pretty lofi-ish if I may say so myself which is to say, there’s great looping appeal. Would you say that yourself?
I hope all my songs have great looping appeal! But with ‘2942’, we wanted to go for something chill that could serve as ambient music, yet upbeat enough to vibe with. Especially with the rise of Tiktok, we wanted this track to be catchy enough for people to take inspiration from and intertwine it with their own video ideas.
Even the music video has some lo-fi appeal. Do you think it telegraphs your aesthetic as an artist? You know, low-key, relaxed, and very “of the moment”?
Wow I think “relaxed and spontaneous” is spot on, and it probably manifests in my TikTok videos where I enjoy randomly posting short cover snippets in my very relaxed home attire (#iykyk).
I enjoy this subconscious aesthetic as I suppose I’m just a normal guy with abnormal aspirations. Not everyone is able to afford state-of-the-art equipment (be it microphones or video cameras), and I want to show people that you don’t need the biggest budget to make the best music, just the biggest ideas, and dreams.
I want to be able to relate with the general public better too, with authentically homemade MVs and content, so our music and its emotions come across far more tangibly through everyone’s screens.
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Would you say that 2942 is about your struggles as an artiste? If so, what is going on and when did you realise you could pen these thoughts down into a song?
For sure. At first glance, it may seem that 2942 is the typical song about love/relationship, but it’s indeed about my struggle between balancing my law studies and my music dreams. I’m probably a few more weeks away from graduation and I guess reality is simply hitting harder as each day passes.
The time to figure out the TikTok algorithm to go insanely viral is running out! Jokes aside (or perhaps not), I’m starting to feel a sense of desperation where I’m fearful of the fact that I’m unable to pursue something I find so much meaning and purpose in, and these sentiments were really what inspired ‘2942’.
What is your favourite lyric then from the song and what does it mean to you?
THIS IS TOUGH CUZ I’VE GOT TWO FAVOURITE LINES. “Oh, the lengths that I’ll go to for you” is rather self-explanatory. But there’s an adlib that surfaces out of the blue which I really love, hidden in the background of the climax chorus — “Take you on the side side ‘Imma give it all”.
It succinctly sums up my music journey so far, where I took up music on the side in Law School and decided to give it my all for the ultimate dream — sacrificing a huge chunk of my grades.
I noticed one of the TikTok videos was of you tinkering on what looks like Soundtrap. Are you what we call, a “complete artist” which is to say you write, produce, record and edit?
I am, beyond a shadow of a doubt, incomplete, and most of the credit for all the content you see goes to my friend Justin. He is the producer, videographer, and social media manager, while I am simply the face of this project. Only together, are we a complete MAXIMILIAN.
We met in university and having had no prior musical knowledge or background whatsoever, we spend all our free time outside of school scouring the net and pouring ourselves into the intricacies of music recording and production. It certainly helps when you are not alone, beyond having to learn everything from scratch, as we constantly motivate one another to not just improve our music but to become an improved version of ourselves each day.
I can’t help but ask, do the two in the song refer to perhaps, a “life” you did not choose?.
The number ‘2’ signifies the two lives that I’m currently living right now (as a law student and as an aspiring musician), but I don’t think I’ve actually “chosen” which life I’m moving forward with. Definitely, this is still a struggle that I’m trying to come to grips with as I know which life I want to choose but I’m still unsure whether it will eventually work out.
Oh, the lengths that I’ll go to for music.
Out of curiosity, what was the #1 song on your Spotify last year?
‘blue’ by keshi. keshi’s story has been of great inspiration to me as he was also making music from his bedroom while working full-time as a Nurse. He gradually built up a following and one day, he couldn’t take it anymore so he quit his job and signed with a label a week later to pursue music full-time.
I see parallels with my life story so hopefully, my mum doesn’t read this interview!
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